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Rachel M. Burns

Education

Overview

Rachel M. Burns is a project associate at the RAND Corporation. During her tenure at RAND, she has contributed to projects focused on substance abuse and drug policy; the mental health and well-being of military personnel returning from deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and their families; suicide epidemiology and prevention; adolescent health behaviors; occupational health and safety; access to and utilization of health care services; vaccinations; cancer survivorship; and patient safety and quality of care in hospitals. Burns is a proficient SAS programmer and has experience in qualitative and quantitative data management, collection, and analysis. She earned her M.P.H. degree in epidemiology from the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

The Department of Veterans Affairs health care system, with broad resources and capabilities, provides timely and high-quality care to most, but not all, patients. Meeting veterans' needs over the next five years will require additional capacity.

This report describes the study design and summary data from the first year of data collection for the Urban Child Institute Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood Study.

Increasing the number of physicians who can prescribe buprenorphine for opioid abuse and supporting their ability to treat more patients may be the fastest approach to enhancing capacity for treatment, particularly in less populated counties.

Policy makers should focus their efforts on further increasing the number and geographical distribution of physicians, particularly in more rural counties, where prescription opioid misuse is rapidly growing.

The authors conducted a feasibility assessment of online training plus an online learning collaborative to support implementation of an evidence-based psychosocial treatment in a community mental health system.

The authors calculated the number of buprenorphine-waivered physicians and used multivariate regression models to predict number of buprenorphine-waivered physicians/100,000 residents as a function of county characteristics, state policies and efforts to promote buprenorphine use.

Using data from 2000 to 2010, RAND researchers estimated the number of users, expenditures, and consumption for four illicit drugs: cocaine (including crack), heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine (meth).

RAND researchers generated national estimates of the total number of users, total expenditures, and total consumption for four illicit drugs from 2000 to 2010: cocaine (including crack), heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine.

Deployed contractors may be exposed to the same stressors as military personnel. A RAND survey examined the mental and physical health of contractors, their deployment experiences, and their access to and use of health care resources.

This article uses the OSHA inspection data base to examine all inspections in manufacturing in 47 states from 1999 through 2006 and identifies all inspections and all establishments at which respiratory protection (RP) violations were cited, and it compares the prevalence of violations by industry with the prevalence reported in a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of respirator use.

Describes the functionality of the Army Medical Department's Professional Filler System (PROFIS) in the current operating environment of ongoing deployments and assesses potential modifications and improvements to the system.

A team from RAND and the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) developed a toolkit to help hospitals enhance their quality improvement efforts using quality indicators from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

To help fill the gap in the research on the effectiveness of military family support programs, a RAND study explored the curriculum, themes, and outcomes of Operation Purple, a free weeklong summer camp program for youth with a deployed parent.

A team from RAND and the University HealthSystem Consortium developed a toolkit to help hospitals enhance their quality improvement efforts using quality indicators from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Many Pittsburgh residents in the communities around Frick Park are interested in environmental issues and education, and some use the park. However, awareness of the park and its Environmental Center could be improved, and barriers to use addressed.

Describes the development and testing of a survey tool that the Department of Defense and local military commanders can use to gauge the problems and problem-related needs of service members and their families and how well those needs are being met.

Develops and tests an approach to program-level assessment of interactive multimedia instruction (IMI) courses that identifies strengths and deficiencies in technical, production quality, and pedagogical aspects of IMI courseware.

We obtained community group and resident input into the design of the new environmental center building at Frick Park (in Pittsburgh, Pa.) and acquired information about residents' attitudes toward and use of Frick Park more generally.

The increasing number of suicides is causing concern in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). Suicide-prevention programs in DoD and across the services have some (but not all) of the characteristics of comprehensive programs.

The increase in suicides among military personnel has raised concern. This book reviews suicide epidemiology in the military, catalogs military suicide-prevention activities, and recommends relevant best practices.

Reports the results of a longitudinal study of youth from military families and their caregivers concerning their emotional well-being and how well they are coping with servicemembers' extended deployments.

Examines the behavioral and emotional well-being of a sample of military families over a year as they cope with the stress of war and deployment, using surveys and in-depth interviews with youth and their nondeployed caregivers.

Summarizes analyses of existing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) studies for war zone veterans, finding that the prevalence estimates vary widely and are linked to the use of different PTSD diagnostic definitions and divergent study samples.

Since 1994, Pennsylvania, has provided a 5% discount on workers' compensation premiums for firms with a certified joint labor-management safety committee. This study found that injury rates at participating firms with good compliance records dropped more than at other firms.

Develops and tests an approach to program-level assessment of interactive multimedia instruction (IMI) courses that identifies strengths and deficiencies in technical, production quality, and pedagogical aspects of IMI courseware.

This study finds that OSHA inspections reduce both injuries that are related to OSHA standards and those that are not. Citations of the general personal protection equipment standard are most likely to be followed by reductions in injuries.

This evaluation of the voluntary Pennsylvania Certified Safety Committee program found that although compliance did reduce injuries, most participants did not comply and injury rates did not decline more at participating firms.

Reports the results of a survey of families attending a summer camp program
that children with a deployed parent attend, to learn more about the
functioning and well-being of children of deployed military personnel.

Reviews literature on post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, and traumatic brain injury and discusses the likely effects of these conditions for veterans that have served in Afghanistan and Iraq and their families.

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